Introduction to Craft Chocolate: Mixed Box

About the box

If you’re new to craft chocolate, this box is a great place to start.

Cocoa Runners have put together an introductory collection with some dark and milk craft chocolate classics.

We have two bars from Standout Chocolate, a Swedish maker, both at the same percentage and made exactly in the same way, just with beans from two different origins. Try both and see the difference in the tasting notes, noticing whether one tastes fruitier, more floral, or more like caramel.

We then have two minibars from Pump Street, who are based in the UK. Known for their bakery inclusion bars, we’ve included a minibar of their sourdough and sea salt inclusion bar as well as a plain dark milk made with Madagascan beans. Notice the difference in texture between these two bars and see how they compare.

Lastly, we have a moreish 42% milk bar from Original Beans in Switzerland. This bar is creamy and caramelly, made with beans from Ecuador.

Included in the box:

Standout – Sambirano Valley, Madagascar, Dark 70%

This Academy of Chocolate 2022 Gold award-winning 70% dark chocolate has a crisp citrus acidity with notes of pineapple and grape. It’s creamy in mouthfeel and Fredrik crafts his chocolate to have an amazing cooling melt.

Standout – Idukki, India Dark 70%

On taste, this dark chocolate bursts with rich sultana and dried fruit notes, with quite the “Madagascar” quality within the bar. The melt and texture is smooth, with a nutty finish.

Original Beans – Esmeraldas Milk 42%

Consistently one of our most popular bars, you can’t go wrong with this creamy milk chocolate from celebrated chocolate maker Original Beans. Esmeraldas is made in Switzerland from the finest Ecuadorian Arriba beans and is difficult to put down, with notes of caramel and hazelnut. A touch of sea salt has been added to complement the silky sweetness. Esmeraldas Milk is also a great choice whenever you’re baking anything chocolatey – chocolate brownies, tarts, mousses, cookies, etc. The depth of flavour in this fantastic Swiss chocolate makes a big difference to the final taste.

Pump Street Chocolate – Sourdough and Sea Salt, Dark 66% (20g)

Sourdough is an intriguing inclusion. It gives the chocolate a gentle crunch and pleasant yeasty taste that works incredibly well with the salt. This sourdough bar surpassed our expectations and is one of the most moreish bars in the Pump Street range. The beans in this bar are Heirloom Designated Arriba Nacional beans, grown on Samuel Von Rutte’s Hacienda Limon estate in the Guayas Basin, Ecuador. Unusually, Samuel pre-dries the cocoa seeds before fermentation, which reduces both acidity and bitterness and contributes to their rich and nutty caramel profile.

Pump Street – Madagascar, Milk 58% (20g)

The notes of caramel and treacle are particularly prevalent in this bar, and as they round off in zesty finish, the natural creaminess of the whole milk chocolate is brought out. The contrasting flavours work wonderfully on the palette. The beans in this bar are sourced from Bertil Akesson’s estate in Madagascar. Bertil’s beans are famous throughout the craft chocolate world, having produced countless award-winning bars and winning many awards themselves. They typically lend their bars a fruity flavour profile, and it’s an endless source of enjoyment for us to see all the new ways makers find to bring out their very best.

No nutritional information available for this product.

*Allergen advice: We directly import, and purchase, all products from independent makers and have these shipped by our partner warehouse (which is not certified allergen-free), and so we cannot guarantee that any product will be allergen-free. Even where an allergen is not listed, products may have been produced, shipped, or stored in facilities which handle allergens.

If you would like further information about a specific product, please contact us on [email protected] or contact the maker directly.